Chapter 28: Natural Enemy

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Natural Enemy

From the feedback in her chakra, Kurenai could clearly sense that Hyuga Kagami had broken free from her genjutsu.

And that result left her utterly shocked!

Normally speaking, even if an enemy was capable of breaking a genjutsu, they would still need to go through some kind of process to dispel it.

They could form hand seals and manipulate their chakra to stimulate themselves, or they could inflict pain on themselves to achieve the same effect. Either way, some sort of process for dispelling the genjutsu was almost always necessary.

Yet Hyuga Kagami hadn’t done anything at all.

And still, he had broken free from her genjutsu.

This completely overturned Kurenai’s understanding of genjutsu.

On the field, Hyuga Kagami had also gained some insight of his own.

There was no doubt about it—the Tenseigan possessed an extremely powerful resistance to genjutsu. Against ordinary genjutsu, he practically didn’t need to do anything himself. The Tenseigan would automatically eliminate the genjutsu’s influence on him.

And the entire process happened in an instant!

The spar was still ongoing, so Hyuga Kagami suppressed the joy in his heart and said to Kurenai, "Here’s a piece of advice. When you encounter someone with powerful dōjutsu, don’t use genjutsu so casually."

Kurenai stared fixedly at Hyuga Kagami. "Why doesn’t my genjutsu work on you? How did you do it?"

Kurenai’s loud questioning drew quite a bit of attention. Many of the chūnin who had yet to take their turn sparring looked over, turning their attention toward the match between Hyuga Kagami and Kurenai.

Seeing that they had quite an audience, Hyuga Kagami thought for a moment and decided that this was a perfect opportunity to establish his image as a powerful shinobi.

He said indifferently, "Against someone with powerful dōjutsu, ordinary genjutsu is meaningless. That’s why I said you were unlucky. Your genjutsu is completely useless against me."

Kurenai wasn’t someone who would admit defeat so easily. Hearing this, she snorted coldly before immediately forming another series of hand seals.

"Genjutsu: Threefold Cherry Blossom!"

Whoosh...

It was as though a gentle breeze had swept across Training Ground No. 9.

The corners of Kurenai’s lips curled upward.

"Got you!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she lowered her body and, carried along by the breeze, lunged fiercely toward the motionless Hyuga Kagami.

Hyuga Kagami remained completely still, seemingly trapped within some kind of genjutsu and utterly unresponsive to everything around him.

But just as the watching chūnin thought Kurenai was about to succeed, Hyuga Kagami suddenly raised his right arm without the slightest warning, precisely intercepting her line of attack.

"You!?"

Her sure-hit attack having been blocked, Kurenai froze on the spot.

Hyuga Kagami didn’t even turn his head. He simply pivoted and kicked the stunned Kurenai, sending her flying.

"It seems you still don’t understand. Genjutsu meant to interfere with my senses is useless against me as well."

Hyuga Kagami spoke slowly and calmly, as though he were merely stating an obvious fact.

Unwilling to accept it, Kurenai climbed back to her feet and asked in a daze, "H-How can this be...!?"

Genjutsu was the Yūhi family’s specialty, and it had always been something Kurenai Yūhi took great pride in.

But today, that pride had been shattered to pieces by reality.

It wasn’t just Kurenai. Many of the chūnin watching the match were either shocked or astonished, and even Uchiha Shisui, who had just defeated his own opponent, took notice of what was happening over here.

Hyuga Kagami knew that Kurenai had lost her father during the Nine-Tails’ attack not long ago, so he hadn’t wanted to hit her too hard emotionally. But after giving it some thought, he realized that ordinary genjutsu-type shinobi were inherently at a disadvantage when facing powerful dōjutsu kekkei genkai users.

It was a reality that couldn’t be avoided.

For Kurenai to experience that weakness sooner rather than later might not necessarily be a bad thing.

And so, Hyuga Kagami continued in the same cold tone, "Sooner or later, someone will make you understand this. Rather than having an enemy teach you that lesson, it’s better that I do."

Kurenai looked at Hyuga Kagami.

"Can your eyes really see through everything?"

Hyuga Kagami merely shrugged and gave no answer.

Then, recalling how Kurenai would one day be effortlessly crushed by Itachi, Hyuga Kagami offered her a well-intentioned warning.

"If you ever encounter a dōjutsu kekkei genkai user who is truly proficient in genjutsu, remember this: don’t rely too heavily on your genjutsu. Otherwise, the consequences could be disastrous."

Kurenai nodded solemnly, then decisively chose to concede.

Although she had lost this battle, it wasn’t as though she had gained nothing from it. On the contrary, the fight had exposed her weakness and taught her exactly what kind of shinobi was her natural enemy.

On the observation platform in the distance...

The Third Hokage watched the scene thoughtfully for a moment before instructing the ANBU beside him, "For the final round, arrange a match between Hyuga Kagami and Uchiha Shisui."

The ANBU beside him seemed equally eager to see a clash between the Sharingan and the Byakugan. He nodded.

"Yes. I’ll arrange it immediately."

As expected, Hyuga Kagami won another two rounds in succession, earning himself a place in the final round of the examination.

By this point, only thirty chūnin remained.

Among those thirty, the only familiar faces Hyuga Kagami could see were Guy, Asuma, and Uchiha Shisui. As for the rest of his former classmates, they had all been eliminated in the previous matches.

Asuma had long expected Hyuga Kagami and Shisui to keep winning, but he hadn’t expected Guy, who had always been a dead-last, to win three matches in a row as well.

Clicking his tongue in amazement, Asuma said, "Guy, you’ve improved a lot!"

Guy immediately struck his signature pose, flashing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth as he laughed.

"Wahahaha! I am Konoha’s Blue Beast, after all!"

Seeing all the other winners turn to look at them, Asuma awkwardly waved his hands.

"Don’t look at me like that! I don’t know him. I seriously don’t know this guy!"

Just then, the Third Hokage slowly walked over with his pipe in his mouth.

The assembled chūnin hurriedly saluted him.

The Third Hokage smiled. "You are the finest chūnin in the village, and as Hokage, I am proud of every one of you. However, the number of Special Jōnin positions is limited, so you will still need to undergo one final round of examination."

Hearing this, everyone glanced at one another, their expressions becoming solemn almost simultaneously.

At this stage of the selection process, nearly all of the remaining thirty were among the very best of Konoha’s chūnin. None of them could confidently claim that they were certain to defeat the others.

There was no doubt that the final round would be fiercely contested.

"Ahem..."

After clearing his throat twice, the Third Hokage announced, "Let’s begin drawing lots for the final round."

The results were soon decided.

The first match of the final round—

Hyuga Kagami vs. Uchiha Shisui!

Hyuga Kagami wasn’t surprised by the result in the slightest.

He had never believed in so-called random draws. In his view, manipulating the results of a draw was simply one of the essential tools of those in positions of power.

There was nothing particularly objectionable about it.

Shisui was only slightly taken aback before quickly regaining his composure.

Unlike the calm reactions of Hyuga Kagami and Shisui, the others immediately became extremely interested when they saw the results of the draw.

As the village’s two great dōjutsu, the question of which was stronger—the Sharingan or the Byakugan—had always been a subject of endless debate throughout Konoha.

Naturally, a showdown between Hyuga Kagami and Shisui was bound to attract plenty of attention.

Without needing anyone to urge him, Hyuga Kagami lightly leaped onto Training Ground No. 1.

Watching Shisui slowly make his way onto the training ground opposite him, Hyuga Kagami said,

"I’m curious to see just how strong the Uchiha clan’s newest genius really is. Don’t disappoint me."